Instacart is raising $400 million to deliver your groceries to your door

Grocery delivery startup Instacart is on the brink of adding $US400 million to its war chest, according to a source familiar with the fundraise.

The new round of funding would value the delivery startup at $US3 billion, the source said. Sequoia, a previous investor in the company, is rumoured to be leading the round, but other existing investors like Whole Foods are unconfirmed. Axios first reported the news. Instacart declined to comment.

The round hasn’t closed yet, but is expected to close soon. When the cash lands in Instacart’s bank, it will bring the total raised by the five-year-old business to nearly $US675 million.

Instacart is often mocked and compared to Webvan, a famous dot-com bust that also promised grocery delivery, but our source said that “misconception” is what causes people to miss out on its big business. Rather, Instacart has been transitioning its business to be more than 21st century milk delivery, and is focused on building integrations with stores to effectively bring their businesses online. The company is reportedly exploring outsourcing the delivery part altogether and focusing instead on its shoppers in stores.

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